Visa says payment volume across its stablecoin-linked card programs grew nearly 200% year over year. The increase suggests stablecoins are seeing more use on familiar payment rails. But Visa has not disclosed the dollar totals or fully explained what it counts as stablecoin-linked card volume.
- Visa reports more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs worldwide.
- Business and commercial programs accounted for about 17% of card volume in fiscal 2026 year-to-date.
- Visa separately reports a stablecoin settlement pace above $20 billion annualized.
- Allium’s broader market estimates measure different activity and cannot be directly compared with Visa’s figures.
What Visa’s card growth does and doesn’t measure
A stablecoin-linked card lets customers pay through existing card infrastructure. Stablecoins may fund the card balance or support settlement behind a transaction. That does not mean every purchase goes on a blockchain or that the merchant receives stablecoins.
Visa reported nearly 200% year-over-year growth in payment volume across its stablecoin-linked card programs. The company has not published current or prior-year dollar totals, so the percentage alone does not show the programs’ absolute scale. Visa also has not said whether the figure counts purchases funded with stablecoins, transactions settled onchain or a broader range of activity tied to these programs.
Visa said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs operate worldwide across consumer, business and commercial markets. In an Oct. 1 update, it said business and commercial programs accounted for approximately 17% of stablecoin-linked card volume during fiscal 2026 year-to-date. That figure is based on VisaNet data and Visa’s internal classifications, not a standardized industry-wide measure.
Visa also reported that stablecoin settlement had passed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times its year-earlier level. An annualized run rate projects recent activity over a full year. It does not mean Visa had already settled $20 billion during fiscal 2026. Visa did not disclose the period used to calculate the pace.
Card purchase volume and settlement between Visa and participating institutions measure different parts of the payment network. They should not be added together or treated as interchangeable measures of spending.
Stablecoins across funding, payouts and settlement
Visa’s stablecoin work goes beyond card programs. Through Visa Direct, eligible businesses and financial institutions can use stablecoins to prefund some cross-border payments. Prefunding means putting money in place before making a payout. Stablecoins can provide an alternative to conventional fiat accounts and banking hours, alongside existing payment methods.
In a separate arrangement, a U.S. business can fund a payment through Visa Direct, and an eligible recipient may choose to receive a dollar-backed stablecoin such as USDC in a supported wallet. Availability depends on the program and recipient. This is not a stablecoin option for every Visa Direct payment.
Visa and Bridge, a stablecoin-card provider owned by Stripe, said in a March announcement that Bridge-powered cards were live in 18 countries, with plans to expand to more than 100 countries by the end of 2026. Visa said the cards could be used at more than 175 million merchant locations. That figure describes potential acceptance reach, not the number of merchants already processing stablecoin-funded purchases.
Visa also introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform, an enterprise service for banks, fintech companies and crypto businesses. The initial offering supports Open USD and provides tools to hold, transfer, mint and redeem stablecoins. Access was limited to selected participants during the initial rollout.
Visa says selected issuers and acquirers can settle certain obligations to the company using USDC on supported blockchains, including in the United States. The details available for this announcement did not identify the blockchains.
Onchain lending for card settlement
Visa has described a model that uses onchain lending, or loans arranged through blockchain-based infrastructure, to finance stablecoin-linked card settlement. The system combines VisaNet settlement information with lending infrastructure from Credit Coop.
Credit Coop said it had financed $2.5 billion cumulatively since 2023 across more than 3, 000 borrowing events. Visa said some participating programs had reduced borrowing costs by as much as 30%, but did not disclose the comparison baseline or individual rates. That maximum saving should not be taken as a typical result.
Visa has also outlined a proposed system in which daily settlement files could trigger loans matched to the amount a card program owes. The company has not announced a general launch date for the system across stablecoin-linked programs. Lending may help programs manage short-term funding needs, but it still carries costs and risks. Moving the process onchain does not make them disappear.
What broader stablecoin estimates tell us
In a September report, research firm Allium estimated stablecoin payment volume at $401 billion to $527 billion during the first eight months of 2026. The lower estimate represented 42% growth from the same period a year earlier. An alternative methodology put growth as high as 63%.
Allium also estimated $85 trillion in total stablecoin transfers from January through August. After excluding internal transfers, routing activity, bots and other movements, it classified $4 trillion as economic activity. Within that adjusted activity, payments represented as much as 13%, trading accounted for 69%, and store-of-value transfers for 13%. The 13% payment share applies to Allium’s adjusted economic activity, not to all stablecoin transfers.
Allium estimated business-to-business payment volume at $137 billion to $153 billion and consumer retail purchases at about $19 billion. It also estimated that 43% of B2B payment volume with identifiable geographic information crossed national borders. The B2B estimate and the report’s listed service-fee, payroll and supplier figures should not be added together without checking the categories. They may overlap.
Allium’s estimates cover stablecoin activity across the market. Visa’s figures concern its card programs and settlement with participating institutions. Different definitions, populations and time periods make direct comparisons misleading. A large transfer total does not automatically mean a large payment total, just as card purchases are not the same as network settlement.
Key questions about Visa’s stablecoin activity
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How much did Visa’s stablecoin-linked card volume grow?
Visa reported nearly 200% year-over-year growth. It has not disclosed the dollar totals or specified exactly which purchases the measure includes.
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What does Visa’s $20 billion figure measure?
It is an annualized run rate for stablecoin settlement between Visa and participating institutions, not card purchase volume or an amount already settled during fiscal 2026.
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What does Allium’s payment estimate cover?
Depending on the methodology, it estimates $401 billion to $527 billion in stablecoin payment activity across the market during the first eight months of 2026. It is not a Visa-only figure.
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Does a stablecoin-linked card put every purchase onchain?
No. Stablecoins may fund a card balance or support settlement behind a purchase, while the transaction itself uses existing card infrastructure.
Visa’s figures suggest stablecoins are finding uses in several parts of payments: card funding, institutional settlement and cross-border payouts. But the missing card-volume totals and undisclosed run-rate window leave important questions about scale. Clearer definitions, dollar amounts and details on costs and settlement mechanics would make the growth easier to assess.
Visa’s work also includes regional settlement efforts, such as its Singapore pilot with Nium.
